The latest round of the BARC Dunlop Motorsport News Saloon Championship took place at Lydden Hill as part of the annual Lydden Festival Of Motorsport. The morning programme would take place on the full circuit with the oval and ¾ circuit being used in the afternoon.

Qualifying

The Clubman headed out onto a damp circuit for qualifying under dark skies as the threat of rain hung in the air. Given the changeable conditions the team elected to run a compromised setup on the car so that it could deal with either a drying track or further rainfall. Throughout the session the Clubman struggled to find a gap in the traffic and was unable to get a fully clear lap. Despite this the Clubman would line up 4th on the grid.

Race 1

With rain falling during the previous race and the threat of further precipitation a distinct possibility the team sent the Clubman out for the first race with a wet biased setup. From the rolling start the Clubman stormed off the line and snatched 3rd place from a Peugeot 205 in the opening stages of the race. Having gained a place the Clubman set about trying to take 2nd place from the Mini ahead. Quickly closing the gap the Clubman sought to pass and looked to make a decisive move.

As the race drew on the rain held off and the circuit began to dry, this began to force the Clubman onto the back foot as the wet tyres began to overheat. Seeking out damp areas on the track the Clubman was able to keep the wet tyres cool enough to retain a useable level of grip although it was now coming under pressure from a slick shod Mini behind. Taking a pragmatic view of the situation the Clubman yielded the position in order not to risk going off the circuit – at this stage of the season the big picture in the championship becomes important and the Clubman opted to settle for the points for 3rd instead of risking a DNF by overworking the wet tyres on the drying circuit. The Clubman took the chequered flag in a comfortable 4th overall and 3rd in class.

Race 2

By the start of the second race the clouds had lifted and the sun had forced its way through the gloom – the circuit was now fully dry and the Clubman was back on a full dry setup for the race. With starting positions determined by the finishing order of the previous race the Clubman would be starting 4th immediately behind its rival Minis.

Another good start saw the Clubman instantly pass the first of its adversaries and set off in hot pursuit of the black Mini now in 2nd place. Going into the Devils Elbow for the first time the Clubman got a great run on the black Mini ahead and drove clean around the outside of it. As the two cars exited the corner the black Mini made contact with the Clubman and forced it off the circuit and onto the grass, the Clubman bounced across the infield and returned to the circuit lucky to still be in the running but now with damaged steering (and also a broken rim it was discovered after the race).

The Clubman was fortunate to retain 3rd place after its spell off the circuit but was soon back in hot pursuit of the black Mini once more and quickly reeled in it opponent. The two protagonists soon caught and passed the erstwhile race leader in the red Peugeot 205 who was suffering as the Clubman had in the first race with a compromised setup on a dry circuit. The battle now raged for overall lead of the race! Once again the Clubman got a good run through the Devils Elbow and up to the hairpin – a clean exit allowed the Clubman to take the racing line for Paddock and surge into the lead.

Once ahead the Clubman began to edge out a gap to its rival behind although this gap ebbed and flowed as the two cars began to navigate the backmarkers. At one point this again resulted in contact between the two cars as the black Mini nudged the rear of the Clubman at the hairpin. Once in clear air the Clubman once again began to open out a gap to the Mini behind and took the chequered flag to record an outright race win.

All in all it was a good weekend for the Clubman, the mixed conditions made tyre choices and car setups a lottery and the result of the first race was clearly influenced by the setup gambles taken respectively by each car throughout the grid. Settling for a 3rd in class was the best option for the Clubman once the circuit dried. The fully dry second race allowed the Clubman to show its potential despite the damage received on the opening lap of the race and once again the Clubman proved to be the fastest of the Minis and took an impressive outright win.